Next… This felt like an entire game of garbage time ball from the Lakers.

The Lakers faded from contention early in this one. Trailing the first quarter by 9, they-gave up a 9-0 run to open the second quarter. The lead ballooned from there to 30.

“The Clippers got whatever they wanted,” Luke said.

The Lakers trailed 70-40 at the half. The defense, nonexistent. You can’t give up 56 percent shooting and 10 offensive boards while forcing just 4 turnovers in a half and not expect to give up a lot of points.

Absolutely nothing disruptive by the Lakers on D. Luke sat all the starters at the half and went with Black, Robinson, Brewer, Nwaba and Ennis to start the second half.

“Playing without a certain amount of effort isn’t going to be tolerated,” Luke said of sending that message after the 133-109 loss.

…And the tank rolls on. Next.

Russell -- -- The team was just overwhelmed from all positions tonight. Clipper guards were firing at will and shelling us. Offensively for Russell, he was getting into the midrange quite a bit with how the Clippers plug the paint and defended the screens. He was able to free himself up a little later for threes. Some situations on the break where he should have passed the ball to teammates for better looks. Other than that a fairly solid game from him. Not hot, not cold. “I just missed shots,” Russell said, not content with his 18 points and 5 assists. He said he wants to lead by example, coming into the gym early before people are there. Do that and he can elevate his game as well as teammates. Hope that’s a habit for him. The Stats: He scored 18 points on 7-15 shooting (3-7 from three, 1-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -8. The Action: He missed a 17-footer off the handoff. His pass was picked off. Now at PG, he sank a wing jumper working the two-man game with Randle. He sank a 17-footer working off the high screen. He missed an elbow jumper. He swished a 16-footer off the screen. He missed a wing three out of a timeout. He drained a three on a kickout. He missed a wing three. He had 9 points on 4-8 shooting in the first half. Second Half: He pushed out the break and hit Robinson for the dunk. He blindsided a man for a steal and was fouled on the break (give it up and get it back), he made one FT. He deflected a pass to ignite a break. He fouled Paul on a corner three for an And-1. Bad angle after a perimeter switch to give up a dunk. He swished a three off a good screen from Zubac. He sank an elbow pull-up jumper working to his left. He missed a wing three. He kicked out to Ingram for three. He missed an off-balance wing jumper expecting a foul that didn’t come. He sank a sideline three in transition. He missed an open wing three, didn’t like the feet on that one and he had time, too. He crossed over in transition and couldn’t finish the layup (should have went over his shoulder to a teammate).

Randle -- -- Extremely deceptive stat line. Borderline invisible in the first half. Luke pretty much said if you aren’t going to show up, you aren’t going to play, you can sit. Thomas Robinson outplayed him in about 60 seconds of work. So Luke left Randle on the bench while bringing back all the other starters before him in the third quarter. Randle got back in with about a minute and a half left in the third and showed a little more bounce in his step trying to make something happen. He then racked up a bunch of garbage-time points. Can’t sleep walk out there like he did to start. That’s what they’ve really been trying to work with him on. The Stats: He scored 19 points on 7-13 shooting (1-2 from three, 4-5 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a wing jumper. He missed another from the other wing. He swished the 10-footer in the lane when JC hit him. He attacked off the three line off a kickout and fed it to Zubac for the dunk. He charged on a baseline attack. He missed a pull-up three at the buzzer. He was blocked on a putback attempt. Second Half: He was fouled trying to power up on the baseline at the end of the quarter, he made one FT. He trailed the break and hit the And-1 runner attacking to his right and hitting with his left, he made the FT. He scored a putback off a missed jumper. He blindsided a man for a steal and a dunk. He found Russell for three in transition. He missed a layup but Zubac tipped it in. He faced up, attacked left across the lane and drew FTs. He attacked to his right on the baseline and powered in the righty layup. He cleaned up a missed layup in transition on a follow. He attacked left and was swatted. He sank a three with a few seconds left.

Ingram -- -- A more concerted effort tonight for the Lakers to get the ball to him in the post. The Clippers were fronting a lot and that forced the Lakers into some high-low counters. Ingram got his scores mostly on jumpers and attacking the paint. Awful freethrow shooting, however (he missed 5 at the line and that cost him a new career high). Just another one of those many areas that needs improvement. Everything else in his game he’s doing with confidence. Love the aggressiveness, though, and glad he’s not backing away from attacking despite those freethrow issues. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 8-14 shooting (2-4 from three, 3-8 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 40 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He hit Zubac in the lane for the floater. Offensive foul out of a timeout trying to post up. He attacked strong to his left, hung and scored the layup. He posted up Crawford and scored the easy layup. Quick attack on the pushout, he missed the layup but Nance tipped it in. Nice reach to strip a man and ignite a break. Quick baseline attack off the catch and he reversed around his man. He attacked Pierce, knocking him backwards and flipping in the layup with ease (sit down, old man!). He lobbed to Zubac for the score. He missed an open corner three. He missed a sideline three. He swished a jumper from the top of the key, working behind a screen. Second Half: He was hit on a perimeter jumper for FTs, he missed both. He drew FTs getting fronted in the post, he made just one. He attacked the pressure, missed the layup but was fouled on the putback attempt, he missed both again, uggh. He moved in a step off the three line and knocked down the perimeter jumper. He missed a 20-footer. He swished a corner three on a kickout. He was fouled on a finish on the break (probably should have had that one), he made both FTs this time. Slow pass in transition to Zubac and it was picked off. He missed a short wing pull-up getting his man backing up. He sank a corner three on a cross-court feed from Zubac.

Clarkson -- -- Luke’s point after the game was for Clarkson to try to make an impact in some other part of the game if the offense wasn’t working. A team-high -33 in the first half. He shot blanks, going 0-6 in the half and was generally lost. When the Lakers benched everyone in the second half in favor of the deep bench, like Randle he was not missed. Really a negative factor on the floor on both ends. He’s supposed to try to find a balance of passing and scoring given the lead guard role. However, tonight, he just seemed out of sync as a result. He scored his first basket of the game with just 3:20 left in the fourth after missing his first seven attempts. He was spraying threes and never looked comfortable. Pretty awful. And, no, there was no impact on the other end of the floor when the offense wasn’t working. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-9 shooting (0-4 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 3 boards, 5 assists, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls in 36 minutes. He was a -28. The Action: He hit Randle for the short jumper in the paint. Awful three after getting open but not gathering himself after coming around a screen, he bricked off the backboard. He drew FTs next time down and made both. He took a skip pass and fired it to a rolling Zubac for the dunk (great read). Bad read on the shotclock and we had a violation. He made a tech FT. Wild baseline jumper, not close. Sloppy handoff on the perimeter, turnover. He missed a wing three. He missed a corner three. He danced and kicked out to Russell for three. He missed a runner. Bad set pounding the dribble and trying to get the offense set before he airballed a jumper against the shotclock. Then he didn’t pay attention to the backcourt screen and got rubbed out for CP3 to hit a three at the buzzer. Second Half: He choked a point-blank layup on the lob from Russell. Not close on a wing three.

Zubac -- -- Well, certainly no defensive anchoring for Zubac tonight. He was caught in no man’s land quite a bit defensively. He’s going to be in a battle with lack of footspeed with how well he can anticipate what’s going to happen defensively. That’s the area to watch with his game defensively. Can he anticipate well enough to make up for footspeed? Offensively, some of our better shots came off his screens. Some excellent passing sequences to find him, as well, for easy buckets. Good minutes for him. We may be taking lumps in the tank process, but all of this time on the court for him is huge. The Stats: He scored 17 points on 8-14 shooting (1-2 from the line) to go with 7 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. He was a -6. The Action: He hit a floater off the two-man game with Ingram. He missed an open baseline jumper. He missed a layup he probably should have dunked. He took an inbounds pass and swished the 15-footer. He dunked off the quick-fire passing sequence between Russell and Clarkson as Zu rolled to the hoop. He dunked off the Randle drive and dish. Way short on a 17-footer, wide open again. He missed a floater, then went over the back. He finished the lob from Ingram. Slow reaction to a slip screen and he gave up a dunk. Second Half: He hit a jumphook over the rotating D. He ate up Speights easily in the post for the layup. He was held on a high-low, he made one FT. Off the mark on the high-low pass, turnover. He missed a jumphook through some traffic. He tipped in Randle’s missed layup. He missed a layup in transition. He spotted Ingram cross court for a three.

Nance -- -- He had a couple of tip-ins in the first half, but really was both invisible and probably forgotten about as a result. We pick on Randle for not bringing energy, but Larry has a lot of these games. Which if he were in the starting lineup would probably be more noticeable to people. I know he’s playing through that injury, but even healthy this has been a pattern. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-3 shooting to go with 3 boards in 8 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He tipped in a missed Ingram drive. He missed a floater in the lane. He tipped in a missed jumper. Second Half: He did not play in the second half.

Brewer -- -- The lack of three shooting was again pretty apparent with his relentless passing up of jumpers in favor of drives. Some low percentage looks from him. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-5 shooting (0-1 from three, 0-2 from the line) to go with 1 board, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 foul in 12 minutes. He was a -17. The Action: He missed a tough runner. He cut into the paint, took the pass and drew FTs off Black’s post-up, he missed both. He attacked from the corner and hit a tough one off glass right in his man’s chest. Second Half: Backcourt pressure before getting beat badly in a second to give up FTs. He missed a runner. Nice recovery on his man to block a shot off the glass. He missed a corner three. He missed a runner.

Ennis -- -- He scored a few from the line and hit a floater for his only points in some third quarter action as he got the start in the second half. That unit at least played even with the Clippers. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 1-5 shooting (0-2 from three, 3-3 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 1 steal and no fouls in 8 minutes. He was a +1. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a three to start the half. He attacked and hit a floater next time down. He made a tech. He attacked the paint and was blocked. He missed a baseline pull-up. He missed a corner three. He was fouled on the perimeter for FTs, he made both.

Robinson -- -- He got the start in the second half and showed a ton more life than Randle. It only took him about 10 minutes to be the Lakers leading scorer up to that point of the game. He scored 16 points in that third quarter. Just played with effort. He was in a physical battle with Blake Griffin that he won in that quarter. Blake got kind of a bogus flagrant-1 against Robinson, but T-Rob was definitely under his skin. Really needed more of this effort by others. The Stats: He scored 16 points on 7-8 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 1 assist and 2 fouls in 10 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He missed a jumper on iso. He attacked down the lane to his right and scored a layup. He battled at the front of the rim and scored the putback layup. He hit a floater next time down. He stole a ball on a perimeter poke away from Blake and was fouled. He tipped in a miss at the front of the rim. He scooped up a loose ball, pushed it out and was fouled by Blake for FTs (flagrant-1 for Blake, kind of weak), he made both. He filled the lane on the break and dunked. He hit a wild runner in transition. He pulled down a rebound, pushed it up court, surveyed the floor, attacked and reversed.

Nwaba -- -- He came in during the first quarter for Clarkson. Really no impact in this one. He had a nice putback for his only score. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-3 shooting to go with 3 boards and 2 fouls in 14 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He missed a layup in transition. Second Half: He was swatted after a Euro step around an initial defender. He overpowered Paul for a putback score.

Black -- -- A lot of players not really showing up in this one. Quiet minutes from Black. Some offensive boards but no putbacks or finishes at the rim. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-3 shooting to go with 3 offensive boards, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 8 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He missed a layup on the screen-roll. He battled for an offensive board but couldn’t make the tough layup attempt. Second Half: He was stripped after an offensive board.

Walton -- -- The Lakers struggled to score and Luke called a timeout down 11-2… He picked up a tech wanting a foul. The Lakers trailed 16-4… Clarkson out, Lakers down 11. Nwaba in, Russell over to PG… Nance in for Zubac… The Lakers trailed 33-24 after the first quarter… Nance, Ingram, Brewer, Nwaba, Clarkson lineup. They gave up a 9-0 run… Black in for Ingram, down 16… Getting killed on the switches again… Luke called a timeout down 54-29. This lineup getting destroyed… A 23-5 run. He brought back in Zubac, Randle, Ingram, Russell to go with Clarkson… They trailed 70-40 at the half, giving up 10 offensive boards in addition to 56% shooting… Deep bench unit to start: Black, Robinson, Brewer, Nwaba, Ennis… Ingram in for Nwaba down 31 after about 5 minutes… Zubac in down 34 for Black… Robinson the only one balling for the Lakers… Russell in… Laker pressure D getting broken easily… The Lakers trailed 108-74 after the third quarter… Garbage time all fourth…

I agree with you about Nance DB. It's probably the injury but yeah he's the type of player that the team feeds off his energy when he brings it, good thing TROB brought it tonight, made the game worth watching._________________D-Mo: Get your merch, get your merch (wear it!!)

I have a feeling that the players have given up.
If true, the only thing you might expect developing the remainder of the season is individual stat-padding. That's why there is so much iso play and no defensive commitment whatsoever.

No pride left in these kids after all they have seen in the NBA is tanking._________________.

Was really happy with T-Rob's effort and aggressiveness last night. He was the anti-Randle and I would have no problem with putting Randle on the bench and starting T-Rob for a few games just to show Randle your job is not guaranteed._________________Rest in peace ODB (Old Doc Buss)!

I like a good rebuild as much as the next guy, but a rebuild implies a "build" of some type and I am not seeing it with these guys.

Time for some roster changes this off-season, I don't think we can just assume this "young core" is ever going to impact games as far as wins.

This tends to be the lotto treadmill ideology. We suck, let's make changes, we still suck, make more, why don't these guys play hard and consistently with each other? This is the hallmark of young bad teams. Constant turnover, no lineup stability, lots of losing, poor effort to try and lose by 8 instead of 15. Add more draft picks and turnover some pieces. Rinse repeat._________________I guess I just miss my friend.

I like a good rebuild as much as the next guy, but a rebuild implies a "build" of some type and I am not seeing it with these guys.

Time for some roster changes this off-season, I don't think we can just assume this "young core" is ever going to impact games as far as wins.

This tends to be the lotto treadmill ideology. We suck, let's make changes, we still suck, make more, why don't these guys play hard and consistently with each other? This is the hallmark of young bad teams. Constant turnover, no lineup stability, lots of losing, poor effort to try and lose by 8 instead of 15. Add more draft picks and turnover some pieces. Rinse repeat.

Yeah. I (and hopefully the Lakers FO) have tank fatigue. This can't continue after this season._________________Lakers most hated list: 1) Celtics; 2) Mintz.

I like a good rebuild as much as the next guy, but a rebuild implies a "build" of some type and I am not seeing it with these guys.

Time for some roster changes this off-season, I don't think we can just assume this "young core" is ever going to impact games as far as wins.

These and/or some of these young players can consistently impact games with the addition of a Floor General that gets them the ball in rhythm and forces them to be accountable on D while bailing them out during crunch time.

No - I am NOT talking about The Black Mamba coming out of retirement

Maybe Lorenzo Ball will be the answer. He will get the Ball to Zubie to force opposing defenders to move, have Ingram who will make the proper pass, Nwaba to shut down the other team's top offensive player, get Nance free for dunks, space for Randle to bully in, screens for DLO to get free for shots and lanes for JC to drive.

I like a good rebuild as much as the next guy, but a rebuild implies a "build" of some type and I am not seeing it with these guys.

Time for some roster changes this off-season, I don't think we can just assume this "young core" is ever going to impact games as far as wins.

These and/or some of these young players can consistently impact games with the addition of a Floor General that gets them the ball in rhythm and forces them to be accountable on D while bailing them out during crunch time.

No - I am NOT talking about The Black Mamba coming out of retirement

Maybe Lorenzo Ball will be the answer. He will get the Ball to Zubie to force opposing defenders to move, have Ingram who will make the proper pass, Nwaba to shut down the other team's top offensive player, get Nance free for dunks, space for Randle to bully in, screens for DLO to get free for shots and lanes for JC to drive.

I like a good rebuild as much as the next guy, but a rebuild implies a "build" of some type and I am not seeing it with these guys.

Time for some roster changes this off-season, I don't think we can just assume this "young core" is ever going to impact games as far as wins.

This tends to be the lotto treadmill ideology. We suck, let's make changes, we still suck, make more, why don't these guys play hard and consistently with each other? This is the hallmark of young bad teams. Constant turnover, no lineup stability, lots of losing, poor effort to try and lose by 8 instead of 15. Add more draft picks and turnover some pieces. Rinse repeat.

Yeah. I (and hopefully the Lakers FO) have tank fatigue. This can't continue after this season.

This tankjob was necessary but damn it is MISERABLE

I do think it's worth asking at this stage: do we have the right young core to build around? If we don't, can we still sell high on some of them?

Wait it out too long, and if some of them just aren't the guys we need, then their value has tanked by then. How does our core compare to the rest around the league? Not every team is built like Golden State. Celtics didn't take that path. Toronto didn't entirely take that path. They built around their youth and made moves for significant roster additions (IT, Lowry)._________________Kyle Kuzma